Tuesday, August 31, 2010

For this necklace I used a seed bead mix called "Blue Turquoise Grotto", Czech Fire Polished beads in "Blue Turquoise" and "Carnelian", and some "Cinnamon Spice" bicones all crocheted on dark copper wire. I also crocheted a matching pendant for this one.

I'm not real sure that this color mix makes me think of a grotto but it sure is a pretty name!

~Today's Quote~

"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day."

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Well, that's not exactly true, I guess. Fall is very pretty and the temperature is a nice break from the heat of summer. BUT...fall leads into winter. Which I hate. How can the summer go so fast and the winter drag on forever? But fall is upon us. It's being mentioned everywhere. The kids are going back to school and it will be September soon.

So... now that I've whined about it, I'll show you a new necklace with the beautiful colors of fall in mind!

This one is made with autumn jasper chips and sparkly 8mm goldstone beads on vintaj bronze wire. The sparkle of the goldstone doesn't show up in the picture but this is a description of it: "Thousands of shiny flecks in a medium brown stone, invented by accident in the 19th century. This manmade glass shimmers with every move." So pretty!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Artbeads has launched a new contest called the "Bead IQ Trivia Sweepstakes"! You can test your bead knowledge by taking the short quiz and then enter the sweepstakes for a chance at winning a $250 ‘Bead Genius’ Prize Package, which includes a $100 Artbeads.com Gift Card and $150 worth of beading and jewelry supplies. What a great prize package! Count me in! The sweepstakes is open to US and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) 18 years of age and older and ends on September 16, 2010.

I took the quiz and got 7 out of 10, but I admit I guessed on a few of them! To take the quiz and enter the sweepstakes, click here.

Good luck!

Now you can save even more money shopping at Artbeads with their new "Instant Savings" . With Instant Savings, all you have to do is meet certain total order values, and the discount will automatically be applied at checkout. You can even combine coupons with Instant Savings for even greater discounts!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Well, I wasn't a big winner in Vegas but I was the lucky winner of this book, A Bead in Time, by Lisa Crone! I follow Lisa's blog,

A Bead A Day, faithfully! Lisa is such an inspiration and has been so supportive of me since I started my blog. I jumped with joy when I read her post and saw that my name was randomly drawn as one of the winners of her book giveaway!

Lisa's book is "inspired by slices of life" and inspires you to "see the world in a different way and find inspiration around every corner" as she did. The way she was able to translate photos of personal memories into a pieces of jewelry is amazing! It's written as if Lisa is talking to you and includes beautiful photographs and clear instructions for all the projects, along with a section on materials, tools, and basic techniques. I totally enjoyed this book and am thrilled to be able to add it to my "library"!

Lisa and her book have inspired me to create a piece of jewelry to remind me of my trip to Las Vegas! The wheels are spinning on just how I want to do it!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

I spent five days last week in Las Vegas! We had a full window view of the strip from our room! I've always wanted to see it, and my husband has no desire to go, so my kids were generous enough to take me with them! It was also my first time flying. (if you don't count a short trip in a two seater with my brother-in-law about thirty years ago!) I had an absolutely awesome time! It's a pretty amazing place. There's so much to see and do and entertainment everywhere. My son-in-law said I would like it cause it's very sparkly! (He knows me so well!) And it was

s-p-a-r-k-l-y!

I want to thank my kids from the bottom of my heart. It's something I probably would never have gotten to do and something I would not have wanted to miss!